CITY OF MINNETRISTA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MAY 2, 2011

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1 CITY OF MINNETRISTA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MAY 2, 2011 These minutes are intended to provide a record of the topics discussed and decisions made by the Minnetrista City Council. In addition, they are intended to provide the reader with anecdotes from the discussion and a summary of the decision making process. Webcasts of each meeting are available on the Lake Minnetonka Cable Commission website for one year. A PC compatible DVD of the meeting can also be obtained from City Hall in accordance with the current fee schedule. 1) CALL TO ORDER Mayor Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. a) Pledge of Allegiance b) Introductions Present: City Council: Mayor Cheryl Fischer, George Zenanko, Mark Vanderlinde, Anne Hunt, Arlene Donahue; Staff: City Administrator Mike Funk, Assistant City Administrator Michael Barone, City Planner Breanne Rothstein, Finance Officer Brian Grimm, Acting Police Chief Paul Falls, City Clerk Terri Haarstad; Consultants: City Attorney Ron Batty, Kennedy & Graven; and City Engineer Mark Erichson, WSB) Absent: None c) Approval of Agenda Motion by Vanderlinde and second by Donahue to approve the agenda as presented. 2) PERSONS TO BE HEARD Scott Tomes (7850 Halstead Dr.) thanked the council for listening to the citizens at the road forum. He expressed frustration with road maintenance and asked the Council to consider establishing a standing road committee. Lee Webster (7750 Halstead Dr.) expressed his appreciation that the Council did not spend $25,000 upgrading the video system in the Council chambers. John Lewman (6250 Game Farm Road) expressed a strong support for the existing public safety department. He stated that at an approximate cost of $ per resident per year, subcontracting police services with a third party would be shortsighted and was likely to result in reduced medical and criminal services. Wendy Applegate (3480 Kings Point Road) informed the council that a high quality police department was a priority for the community especially in light of the proposed Woodland Cove development which may nearly double the city s population. She expressed her concern that contracting police services with the Hennepin County Sheriff s Office would lower the value of her home and make it more difficult to sell her house. Addditionally, she requested to be notified of each meeting wherein Police Services will be discussed and considered. Page 1 of 6

2 Raymond Berg appreciated the opportunity to openly discuss road issues at the Public Road Forum. He expressed his opinion that the condition of Halstead Drive is a result of maintenance issues and upgrading the road with blacktop is not necessary. He expressed concern about traffic speed especially near the boat launch and asked the council to authorize a speed study and pursue a request for lower speeds. Tim Lemke (1110 Sunnyfield Road) recommended paving Sunnyfield Road and questioned if Sunnyfield was on the list of roads to be paved. He also asked the council to consider establishing a road committee. Tom Donahue expressed concern with school buses and fire trucks getting stuck on the gavel roads because of the frost boils. 3) SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS a) Approval to hire Decision Resources, Ltd., for 2011 Community Survey discussion with Mr. Peter Leatherman, Research Director from DRL The Executive Summary dated 5/2/11 was presented to Council. Discussion included: Concerns about the cost considering current economic conditions. Pros / Cons of conducting a professional telephone survey. Pros / Cons of using alternate methods such as mail out surveys and internet surveys to gather information. Procedures used to ensure survey participants reflect community demographics. The possibility that service reduction areas identified in the survey may or may not result in sufficient savings to cover the cost of the survey. The fact that Decision Resources is exempt from the Do Not Call restrictions. Cost of approximately $20,600 for 110 to 130 questions. Motion by Zenanko and second by Hunt to approve to hire Decision resources, Ltd. for the purposes of conducting a community survey in an amount not to exceed $20,600; with a final draft of the survey, the total final cost for the survey, and a formal Services Agreement to be presented to the City Council at its June 6, 2011 meeting. Motion carried (Donahue Nay). b) Mr. Ron Froehling, Halstead Avenue Froehling addressed the City Council about the following points: Looking for city to maintain the roads. Petition was given to the city. Possibly reopen discussion on dust reduction. Lowering speed limit. Engineer to write letter for speed limit reduction and put together information for the council to review. Ensuing discussion included: Whether or not it was appropriate for the city to treat highly traveled gravel roads differently from lesser traveled gravel roads. The fact that the Minnetrista has no jurisdiction over speed limits. Page 2 of 6

3 The fact that Erichson could write letter requesting MnDOT to review the speed limit reduction but he has no control over the outcome of the request. The fact that it is quite common for speed study requests to result in higher speed limits. Establishing a specific definition of 'highly traveled' that included traffic counts. Whether or not the road material used on the gravel road works better in terms of dust reduction. The possibility of testing one of the gravel roads with sections of limestone, granite, and aggregate. The costs of contributing financially to the dust reduction program. Money could be taken out of the $40,000 being banked for longer term solutions. Motion by Hunt and second by Zenanko to direct the city engineer to go ahead and look into a speed study for Halstead Ave and bring the information back to Council on May 16 th. Motion by Donahue and second by Vanderlinde to approve one application of dust abatement on any roads over a traffic count of 300 plus Blair Road, the application to be done in June. 4) CONSENT AGENDA a) Approve April 4, 2011 Minutes b) Approve April 18, 2011 Minutes c) Res. No Approve Personal Services Contract with Emergency Services Consulting International (ESCI) for a Shared Police Feasibility Study A request was made to pull items a and b for discussion. Motion by Vanderlinde and second by Donahue to approve consent agenda item c: Res. No Approve Personal Services Contract with Emergency Services Consulting International (ESCI) for a Shared Police Feasibility Study). a) Approve April 4, 2011 Minutes b) Approve April 18, 2011 Minutes Concern was expressed that the format used for recording the meeting proceedings was inaccurate as the summaries of council members' statements and limited anecdotal documentation distorted the context and meaning of the discussion. Funk and Batty encouraged the City Council to take action on the minutes so an approved official record of meeting proceedings would be available to the public. By unanimous consent the City Council tabled consideration of the minutes until after the Minutes Policy Discussion. Page 3 of 6

4 5) PUBLIC HEARINGS a) None 6) BUSINESS ITEMS a) Discussion: Minutes Policy Haarstad presented the staff report as found in the City Council packet dated May 2, Items of discussion included: Pros/Cons of using a Decision-Only minute style Pros/Cons of using a Verbatim minute style Pros/Cons of using an anecdotal minute style Pros/Cons of using the modified anecdotal minute-style historically used by the City Whether or not the video could be used to officially supplement the minutes The historic integrity and importance of accurate minutes Managing the subjective nature of the official record Redoing the April 4 and 18, 2011 minutes as anecdotal minutes. Video recordings of the meetings. Motion by Hunt and second by Vanderlinde to henceforth record meeting proceedings using a true anecdotal format and to re-write April minutes in this format bringing them forward for Council approval at the May 16, 2011 meeting. b) ZONING AMENDMENT: Ordinance 397 to rezone the Red Oak Golf Course from SDD Staged Development District to R-2(a) Low-Medium Residential; 855 Red Oak Lane; Rothstein presented the report found in the May 2, 2011 City Council packet. Motion by Vanderlinde and second by Donahue to adopt Ordinance 397 to rezone the Red Oak Golf Course from SDD Staged Development District to R-2(a) Low-Medium Residential; 855 Red Oak Lane. c) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TEXT AMENDMENT: Res No approving a Comprehensive Plan Text Amendment to reduce the maximum density in the low-medium density land use district from 5 to 3.5 units per acre; Rothstein presented the report found in the May 2, 2011 City Council packet. Motion by Zenanko and second by Vanderlinde to approve Res No approving a Comprehensive Plan Text Amendment to reduce the maximum density in the lowmedium density land use district from 5 to 3.5 units per acre. d) Authorizing Staff to Expend up to $3,500 to repair Saunders Lake Pedestrian Bridge Rothstein presented the staff report included in the May 2, 2011 City Council packet. The City Council discussed the following: Park dedication fund cannot be used for ongoing maintenance. Does this have public or private characteristics? Page 4 of 6

5 Staff to look at park maintenance fund. Money for the expenditure would be taken out of reserves. Create a resolution ordering the city to maintain this amenity from here forward. Motion by Zenanko and second by Vanderlinde to Authorize Staff to expend a not to exceed amount of $4,000 to repair Saunders Lake Pedestrian Bridge. e) Authorization for Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Plan The Executive Summary dated 5/2/11 was presented to the Council. Items of note included: Can change from 10 to 20 years. The intent is not to be any city cost for administering HSA and any costs of maintaining the cost would be taken care of by the employee. 2% per month administration fee for an outgoing employee is standard practice. These documents have been reviewed by Human Resources. Motion by Hunt and second by Donahue to authorize staff to draft a resolution for the May 16, 2011 council meeting that formally approves the attached policy as presented. Motion carried (Zenanko nay) By unanimous consent the City Council directed staff to bring back spreadsheet outlining more detailed information and an example. f) Discussion: City Council Wages and Compensation The Executive Summary dated 5/2/11 was presented to the Council. Motion by Vanderlinde and second by Zenanko to direct staff to modify or amend Ord. 342 to eliminate Section C of Ord. 342, the $50.00 meeting per diem. 7) ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS a) Res. No Approving the Claims dated May 2, Motion by Hunt and second by Vanderlinde to approve Res. No Approving the Claims dated May 2, b) Council Reports i) Mayor Fischer Planning Commission meeting ii) George Zenanko - None iii) Mark Vanderlinde - None iv) Anne Hunt LMCD tentative budget Upping watercraft inspections. Page 5 of 6

6 v) Arlene Donahue - None c) Staff Reports i) MCWD Rule Change Update ii) Minneapolis Avenue Storm Project Update The City is sharing material costs with MCWD for the repair of the ravine on Minneapolis Avenue. iii) Update on Halsted Point Mobile Home Park A letter was included in the Council packet dated 5/2/11 and the Attorney will look into what the cities ought to do. iv) League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference This conference will be held June 15 17, 2011 and a discount is available for registrations received before May 6, v) Tornado Plan Chief Falls The outdoor warning sirens have been tested and the Police Department is prepared for inclement weather emergencies. d) Set Next Meeting Agenda- May 16, 2011 Regular Meeting The proposed agenda was presented. 8) ADJOURNMENT Motion by Vanderlinde and second by Zenanko to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Terri Haarstad City Clerk Page 6 of 6